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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. pit — a hole
  3. row — to paddle
  4. face — to confront
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. capital — money
  11. cue — for pool
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. face — to point toward
  14. cue — a signal
  15. cue — a hint
  16. chair — a leader
  17. content — the amount
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. content — happy
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. face — part of the head
  22. pit — in a race
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. capital — a city

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com